To remove the outer shroud, remove the shroud retaining screw, insert the key, turn it 'on', then depress the detent and slide the shroud off.

Turn the switch 'off' and remove the key once the shroud is off.

 

Rattle loose the switch, column lock and spring

 

Flop the switch onto it's face to get at the electronic cam activation thingie. (note the positions of the lugs on the face before dissassembly)

To remove, take out the retaining screw and pop the cam off the back of the switch. (you may need to prise at it a bit as they occasionally stick on)

Sorry for the clarity, camera batteries are dying.

NOTE: on this particular lock, it appears they did not see fit to install a cam detent and spring. (yes, it was brand new that way....) It's job is to give that 'click' feel when you turn the key, and to help retain the key in position once it's turned.

What 'should' come out is a pointed black steel pin with a coiled spring follower from the hole indicated in the pix.

In the last pick showing the back of the cam there is a (barely) visible round spring clipped into the rear facing of the cam. That is the one that makes the key snap back to 'run' when you release the key form the 'start' position.

 

The stripped down barrel, ready to go after the key lock & tumblers

 

OK, now the complicated bit:

1st RESIST ALL URGES TO PUT THE KEY IN AND TURN IT, PULL IT, OR TOY WITH IT IN GENERAL. ALL YOU'LL END UP WITH IS FREAKISHLY TINY TUMBLERS AND SPRINGS ALL OVER THE ROOM.

2ND See #1

*****

Using your jewelers screwdriver, gently prise up the end of the tumbler retainer plate furthest from the key end.

Don't get all happy and lever it back on itself, it's in a groove and meant to slip out the end rather than come up off. All you're after is enough to grip it with the needle nose pliers.

With the tumbler holes facing down, slowly and carefully start pulling the retainer plate out toward the back of the lock.

Once you clear the 1st (closest to the key) tumbler hole, a small flat on both ends tumbler will pop out by just a tiny bit.

Remove it and with luck the spring and key tumbler (pointed on one end) will follow. (if not, gently rap the lock on the table and they'll drop out)

Repeate for each of the 5 tumbler assemblies. (note that pic only shows 2 of the 5 sets to give an idea of the different sizes and shapes involved. ALL of the springs are the same size, it's the tumbler bits that are different form position to position and key to key)

IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT YOU KEEP THE TUMBLERS MATCHED AND IN ORDER UNLESS YOU WANT TO RE-KEY YOUR LOCK OR FEEL LIKE FRIGGING AROUND FOR HOURS MIXING AND MATCHING PARTS TO GET IT TO WORK AGAIN.

Once all the tumblers are out and sorted, pull lock cylinder out of the housing and the key retension cam will drop out (it's job is to keep the key in the lock once the key is turned) along with the column interlock (which may or may not drop out on it's own without removing the cylinder depending on grease, wear, phases of the moon and a couple other variables. (they both fit in only one way so reassembly is easy to figure out if they just go flop on you)

Reassembly is pretty straightforward reversal of process, using great care to get the right bit of tumbler in the right spot (the pointed bit of the key tumblers point at the key) not kink springs or shoot parts across the room (they should be under very low pressure and not do so anyway, but I'm not gonna take the blame if it happens) while slipping the tumbler retainer plate back in one hole at a time, (you may wish to tap the plate down/flat in it's groove again. It won't hurt to do so, but don't get carried away and mash the crap out of it) and making sure the cam that runs the electronics is correctly orientated.

You'll likely have to fiddle the column lock parts together as they get real floppy and loose without the shroud in place.

Do NOT reinsert the key into the switch until the cam section is screwed back on, otherwise you risk dumping tumblers again when the lock cylinder tries to fall out while you're working.

To re-key to a different key than the switch was made for, you'll have to do a combination of shuffling tumbers (both parts) and possibly modifying (by filing) existing stuff, or outright making custom fabbed ones out of thin brass rod. (small bore brazing rod works well)

 

OK, Tifosi's got photos, now he's gotta learn about FOCUS...!

About the 'electric switch' part. How did that come off the key/tumbler part? I seem to recall it was riveted in place. And once the switch part is removed, are any of the electrical connections inside accessable? It'd be nice to be able to clean them and apply some di-electric grease.


Here's my contribution to this photo essay: I bought a spare steering column with ignition switch (got it cheap on eBay). If one were to remove the plastic steering column clamshell & positon one's head in the footwell looking up, here's a view of the 'tamper-proof' screw that holds the ignition switch in the column. The tamper-proof screw starts out with a hex head that is designed to break off when tightened leaving what looks like the top of a carriage bolt. To remove it I used a small cut-off wheel in a dremel tool to cut a slot. Then I used a screw driver to remove the bolt.

 

The batteries were dying so I was lucky to get what I had
(once I replace them I'll fix what's fugly, but for now what's there is marginally better than 'no pix at all' methinks)

The electric switch part isn't riveted in at all but instead is retained by a combination of the outer shroud, the rubber sleeve over the wiring (you can see the 'pins' on the sleeve in the 2nd post) and the column lock.

Remove the shroud, disengage the lock and it practically falls off and dangles by the rubber pins on the sleeve which have very little grip and act more as alignment guides more than anything else.

Loosely described, the column lock helps orientate the switch as they'll only fit together one way, the rubber sleeve & pins keep the wire guide going the right way to allow the wires to feed out of the shroud without kink or bind, and the shroud holds all the bits together. (the column lock goes all floppy without the shroud as seen in post #2)

However, the halves of the electrical switch proper are indeed riveted with small tubular brass jobs.

Two larger ones at 11 and 2 and two really tiny ones at 5 and 7 (depending on which way up you have the thing of course)

Barring removal of the rivets, the only access you'd have to the innards and contacts would be through the use of spray or liquid cleaner flushed in (1) through the seam around the perifiery where the halves meet as it's not really a close/tight fit, (2) under the white disc that engages the cam as seen in post 3 on the left side of said switch, and (3) in the holes on the back where the wires pass into the switch on thier way to the internal contacts.

 

Very nice Darren,

This should moved to FAQ sticky.

 

It's linked out of there already.